Shakoki Dogu
The Shakoki Dogu was a powerful spirit inhabiting and guarding the Twilight Mountains. Secrets of the Crab, p. 26 Creation When the First Oni was mortally wounded by the Kami Shiba it travelled to the Twilight Mountains before it died. Its foul blood tainted the ground and awakened the Shakoki Dogu, whose duties became to contain the evil of the First Oni and prevent it from returning to the mortal realm. Enlightened Madness, Part Four, by Rich Wulf Demeanor Shakoki Dogu possessed an intellect and lived only to protect, but it did so in a manner of its own choosing. The Shakoki Dogu did not understand human thought, behavior, or physiology and sometimes its gestures could go tragically wrong. Boar Clan The Shakoki Dogu grew lonely, and when a force of Crab entered the Twilight Mountains the Shakoki Dogu imprisoned them. Sixty years later the Crab finally convinced the Shakoki Dogu to release them, and in return they would always guard the Twilight Mountains alongside the Shakoki Dogu. The returned Crab mined the mountains and the wealth earned them the right to found a minor clan, the Boar Clan. Yajinden and Ryuden The wealth that emerged from the Twilight Mountains drew the attention of Asahina Yajinden and Agasha Ryuden. The two travelled to the Boar Clan and used the tainted ore to create the Anvil of Despair. Yajinden began slaughtering the Boar Clan on the Anvil, and the Shakoki Dogu could not prevent him. The best they could do was to gather the surviving Boar and take them back to their spirit realm. In its zeal to protect the Boar, it tore them from the mortal realm again, permanently transforming the entire Minor Clan into flesh-less spirits. Secrets of the Crab, p. 20 Heichi Jianzhen With the arrival of Kokujin in Shiro Heichi in 1159, the Shakoki Dogu allowed Heichi Jianzhen to return to the mortal realm in hopes that she could uncover why they could no longer enter Shiro Heichi. First Oni Kokujin unleashed the First Oni against a group of Dragon heroes, shaken the earth and provoking lava streams. When the Anvil of Despair fell in the lava the Shakoki Dogu were able to stop the summoning of the Oni in the mortal Realm. Enlightened Madness, Part Seven, by Rich Wulf Effigies and Stone Circles There were shrines dedicated to the Shakoki Dogu, in hopes that it would show mercy should it ever re-awaken. Awakening Shakoki Dogu (Honor Bound) Near these mysterious stone circles created by the spirit could frequently be found the Shakoki Dogu Effigies, tiny stone dolls with deformed limbs and wide staring eyes. These dolls were formed from the mountain rock and possessed a shred of the Shakoki Dogu's awareness. They were the spirit's attempt to understand the mortal realm, a reflection of how it perceived humanity. When the Shakoki Dogu wished, it could animate these magical effigies. The effigies never spoke, except to occasionally whispered the Shakoki Dogu's name. For this reason, many explorers had assumed that dolls were Shakoki Dogu. Secrets of the Crab, p. 27 The only known writings on these spirits were found in a small shrine part of a large complex known as Priests' Point, in the edge of the secluded and secretive last stronghold of the Boar Clan, the Lair. Book of Earth, p. 164 Awakening In 1132, disturbed by the growing power of the Lying Darkness, the spirits of the Shakoki Dogu within a circle of standing stones near the village of Hoshino began to awaken. The once featureless boulders, were gaining a discernable shape. Many villagers were plagued by chaotic nightmares, caused by the Shakoki Dogu, who needed power to reawaken fully, and they took it from living beings. A group of samurai intervened and stopped their awakening. Hidden Emperor, pp. 33-34 External Links * Shakoki Dogu (Ambition's Debt) Category:Boar Clan Category:Spirits